Diginex Partners with Itiviti on NYFIX Connectivity

Itiviti has partnered with Diginex, a digital asset financial services and advisory company, to provide its global NYFIX connectivity platform to Diginex clients: enabling them to access to a FIX-based order routing network that connects 1,600+ buy-side, sell-side and trading venues across all asset classes. According to the announcement, the partnership was driven by demand from institutional investors, who wish to include digital assets in their portfolios, while utilising scalable connectivity based on FIX, the industry messaging standard.

Push Technology Secures £10m Series A Investment

Push Technology, a US-based provider of in real-time data streaming and messaging solutions, has completed a £10 million Series A round of financing. Maven Capital Partners led the round with participation from new and existing investors Guinness Asset Management and Stephens Capital Partners. The investment will assist the company to aggressively expand its sales and marketing efforts as well as broaden and accelerate product development. Maven’s Investment Director, Andrew Symmonds, and Guinness Asset’s Investment Manager, Ashley Abrahams, will join Push Technology’s Board of Directors.

DRW Adopts OpenGamma’s Analytics

DRW, a major global principal trading firm, will use OpenGamma’s analytics in its treasury function to manage derivatives margin. DRW chose the software-as-a-service (SaaS) solution as it seeks to expand its treasury capabilities in response to regulations such as Uncleared Margin Rules (UMR). The regulations require any trading strategy that uses leverage to optimize and be efficient with its use of collateral. OpenGamma’s solution will enable DRW to improve treasury processes by regularly evaluating alternative ways to put on new trades across both clearing houses and bilateral counterparties.

Google Anthos Service Partner Status for GFT

GFT, a global IT services and software engineering provider, has been designated as a global Google Anthos Service Partner. Google Anthos is an open source, hybrid modernisation platform, based on Kubernetes and providing a ‘single pane of glass’ enabling clients to manage and monitor an entire hybrid and multi-cloud infrastructure. It enables users to easily move applications and microservices around their technology estate and across multi-cloud environments with no hardware lock-in. To date, Google has partnered with a limited selection of third parties to drive the platform forward, of which GFT becomes the latest.

ICE Futures Waives Voice Recording, Time-stamping Requirements

ICE Futures US has granted temporary relief to intermediaries from the obligation to comply with certain requirements, including from the requirement to make and keep records of oral communications, as long as a written record is provided instead. The exchange has also granted relief from any requirement to record the date and time by time-stamp or other timing device, provided that a record of the date and time is kept to the nearest minute, for example by instant message or email. Previously, the exchange confirmed that floor brokers and impacted intermediaries would be allowed to work from different locations.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has supported these measures, issuing its own no-action letters confirming relief from both oral communications recording and time-stamping for brokers, swap dealers, forex dealers, and members of designated contract markets and swap execution facilities.

Neoxam Expands into Poland With Skarbiec TFI

Polish asset manager Skarbiec TFI has chosen NeoXam’s Density portfolio management solution for its 42 funds and sub-funds. Density will be the backbone solution for the entire asset management group, covering all calculations for the funds, as well as pre and post-trade compliance. Where previously the group had used excel to monitor its funds portfolios, Density will allow them to have an overview of the current and historic performance of the funds, increasing efficiency and allowing them to manage their funds more effectively. Skarbiec TFI marks NeoXam’s first client win in Poland, as part of its planned expansion into Central and Eastern Europe following the hire of Philipp Sfeir, an ex-head Head of Data at a top-four Swiss bank. Poland is the second largest hub for asset management in Eastern Europe.

CFTC Issues COVID-19 Relief

The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has relaxed rules around voice and telephone recording for swap execution facilities up until the end of June, along with relief to designated contract markets regarding audit trail and related requirements over the same period. The spread of coronavirus has caused compliance with certain CFTC requirements to be particularly challenging or impossible because of displacement of personnel from normal business sites due to social distancing and other measures.

“These prudent, targeted, and temporary actions will help facilitate orderly trading and liquidity in our derivatives markets,” said CFTC Chairman Heath P. Tarbert.

Trading Technologies Partners with Borsa Istanbul

All derivative products listed on Borsa Istanbul Derivatives Market (VIOP) are now available for trading through Trading Technologies’ trading platform, according to an announcement this week. This gives clients the ability to trade the exchange’s derivatives, including foreign exchange, commodities, indices, and interest rate futures and options on futures, whilst utilising the suite of tools provided by Trading Technologies. “This represents an exciting opportunity for Trading Technologies, as this connection to Borsa Istanbul brings us into a new region,” says Steve Stewart, Managing Director, Sales EMEA.

Genesis Names Oliveira to Head Sales and Marketing

Low-code development enabler Genesis has named Felipe Oliveira as global head of sales and marketing. Genesis’ platform supports the development of microservices in capital markets. Oliveira previously held senior roles at Amber Capital Management, a risk arbitrage hedge fund, and Agora Senior Securities, acquired since by Banco Bradesco. More recently, he has held commercial strategy roles at Costa Coffee and LRS Suntory.

US SEC Seeks Fairer Market Data Access, Deeper Data in SIP Feeds

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is calling for reforms that would level the playing field for access to market data. In a bid to narrow the differential between those with access to high-cost data feeds that contain a greater depth of information, and other investors in the marketplace, the SEC proposals would subject ‘competing consolidators’ of market data to Regulation Systems Compliance & Integrity (Regulation SCI). They would also require enhancement of the core data contained in SIP data feeds, and other changes designed to enhance best execution. The proposals follow on from the SEC’s announcement of a radical overhaul to the governance of the consolidated tape.